PRINCE William was visibly moved today as he paid an emotional visit to a stretch of the Japanese coastline where thousands of people were swept away and killed by a devastating tsunami.

Prince William visited the Japanese coastline devastated by the 2011 tsunami

The Duke of Cambridge heard harrowing stories of the "hell" survivors of the killer wave went through as he walked around communities ripped apart by its unimaginable force.

Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands made homeless when the huge wave struck in 2011 after being triggered by an earthquake.

One of the places worst affected was the city of Ishinomaki where the Duke met Hiroyuki Takeuchi, the now-retired chief reporter at a daily newspaper which produced handwritten editions when the disaster struck.

William told him that, like 9/11, everyone remembered where they were when they saw the images of the tsunami.

He added: "It remains with you forever. You remember where you were. It must have been unbelievably terrifying for you and all the others."

Mr Takeuchi said: "Immediately afterwards it was like hell. So many died and their bodies were on the roads. It is still raw in my memory."

The pair met in a small museum Mr Takeuchi founded to chronicle the terrible disaster.

The Duke was shown a muddy mark 8ft up an outside wall of the museum, which showed how high the tsunami had reached after it was sparked by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake.

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The prince met retired journalist Hiroyuki Takeuchi at a museum dedicated to the disaster

Afterwards he met Shinichi and Ryoko Endo who lost their three young children, Hana, Kana and Kanta in the disaster.

The prince looked heartbroken when they told him that all three of the youngsters, who were swept away by the force of the wave, were under 12-years-old.

Mr Endo, a carpenter who has been closely involved in reconstructing his devastated village, then gave the Prince a wooden charm against fire made out of tsunami rubble.

The Duke's final stop of the day was at a market in a nearby town, which plucky survivors built on an area of flat land that had been completely inundated by the tsunami.

Four years on it is a thriving little community, with wooden shops containing businesses such as a greengrocer, a fish shop and a tailor's.

William was greeted at the entrance by two Chinese-style lions, manipulated by adults and children, who performed a writhing dance to an accompaniment of taiko drums and bamboo flutes.

He gamely submitted to the jaws of the lion, which is supposed to bring good luck, and playfully snapped back at the junior lion.

As he walked down the row of shops the crowd of several hundred cheering people waved Union Jacks and shouted, "Oji! Oji!" - meaning Prince.

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William playfully stuck his head inside the jaws of a dragon mascot

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The prince met one couple who had lost all three of their young children in the catastrophe

REUTERS

The prince seemed visibly moved by the reception he received from survivors of the wave

The Duke later flew to China for a high-profile trip that will see him highlight the illegal wildlife trade.

Yesterday he endured an awkward moment when he discovered that a plectrum he was using to strum a traditional Japanese instrument was made of ivory.

When told about the ironic situation, the passionate wildlife campaigner looked up and said with a wry smile: “Oh is it?”.

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The prince endured an awkward moment as he realised the plectrum was made of ivory